THE ETHIOPIAN JEWS IN ISRAEL
Ten years ago, after years of working within the Ethiopian community,
Anne & David Silverman and Rabbi Yosef & Aida Miller established the
Forgotten People Fund to assist Ethiopian families in need of
assistance.
The second "miracle" airlift took place on May 25, 1991, the Sabbath day in Israel. No one knew about it beforehand except for those people who were directly involved in the secret mission. The Israeli media honored the blackout, realizing that if word leaked out, the mission could be cancelled. This was "Operation Solomon", organized with the consent of the Communist leader of Ethiopia, Haile Miriem Mengistu. Mengistu, then in the middle of a civil war with Eretria, agreed to a ceasefire for one day on which he would allow Israeli planes to land and pick up the Ethiopian Jews who wanted to leave. Israel and the United States agreed to compensation for this permission from Mengistu, compensation he desperately needed to continue the war with Eretria. Military, civilian and private planes - anything that could fly the distance - took off from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, landed in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia (a 4 hour trip), refueled while loading up with passengers who were waiting on the tarmac in groups ready to board, flew back to Israel, refueled as the passengers disembarked, and flew again to Addis Abeba. This mission continued for 24 hours and brought out 17,000 Beta Israel. No one in Israel who watched these scenes on TV will ever forget the Ethiopian Jews disembarking from the planes, dropping to their knees, and kissing the ground of their beloved Zion.
Who are the Ethiopian Jews?
The Ethiopian Jews were discovered by Prof. Joseph Halevi in 1877. Prof. Halevi had heard about the "Falasha" (which means stranger), as the Ethiopian Jews were called, from manuscripts and first hand reports of men who had traveled in Ethiopia and met Ethiopians who practiced the religion of the Jews. Because they were considered "falasha" by other Ethiopians (both Christian and Moslem), the Ethiopian Jews moved into northern Ethiopia near Lake Tana and the Simien Mountains - the area now known as Gondar Province - so that they could live in peace and practice their religion without persecution. Halevi lived with the Ethiopian Jews for a year and was most impressed with the way in which they observed the holidays, especially Passover, when the women destroyed all the dishes and pottery they had used all year and made new dishes and cooking pots from clay for the coming year. He also learned about the Ethiopian Jewish day of mourning called the "Sigd" which took place 50 days after Yom Kippur (like a second Yom Kippur). All the villagers would gather together at the highest point in the mountain around them and pray all day for G-d to bring them to Zion. For the Beta Israel, as the Ethiopian Jews are known, Zion was Jerusalem. Halevi's student, Yankel Faitlovitch, followed in the footsteps of his teacher and went to live among the Black Jews of Abyssinia (as Ethiopia was known then). He trained the young Ethiopian Jews to become teachers and leaders. One of his students, Yona Bogale, eventually became the leader of the Ethiopian Jewish community, and Yona and his family were among the Beta Israel who arrived in Israel during "Operation Moses". He died in 1987, much disappointed that so many Ethiopian Jews had been left behind and were suffering in Ethiopia.
How has the life of the Ethiopian Jews changed in Israel?
For many of the Ethiopian Jews, the absorption process has been very difficult. The hardest hit by the move to Israel are the elders of the community. Most of these seniors never learned to read or write in Ethiopia as they had been farmers who lived off the land with their families. Learning Hebrew, adjusting to life in a small, crowded apartment in the city where there is no way for them to work as farmers - the only life they knew - and just living among so many white people have been almost impossible hurdles for them to overcome. The young children go to school, speak Hebrew among themselves and Amharic (the Ethiopian language) only to their parents and grandparents, and consider themselves Israeli.
For those who arrived as teenagers or in their 20's, the transition was extremely difficult. Many had not had a high school education, so the Israeli government decided that these young people would be sent to boarding schools to accelerate the learning process. Unfortunately, the Minister of Education at that time was from one of Israel's religious parties, and he decided that these young people had to go to religious (parochial) boarding school, where the emphasis is on religious instruction and not on academic subjects. As a result, many of the high school graduates at that time were not properly prepared for college or university. Many students dropped out or opted not to matriculate, nor had they received proper job training to make them employable.
Today, 10 years down the line, the situation is improving. Ethiopian high school students no longer have to go to boarding schools nor do they have to attend religious schools. More students are attending colleges and universities. Last June, the first Ethiopian doctor graduated from the Hebrew University, and the first Ethiopian female social worker graduated from Tel Aviv University. Two Ethiopian lawyers graduated from Haifa University and several Ethiopian teachers graduated from the Teacher's Seminary in Tivon and the Schools of Education at Haifa University and Bar Ilan University. Progress is being made, but it is slow as these students all have to depend on scholarships since their families can't afford to pay for their children's education. 90% of the Ethiopian families in Israel live below the poverty line, so it is a daily struggle for them to make ends meet.
What can Israelis learn from the Ethiopian community?
The most important lesson that the Ethiopian community can teach Israelis is tolerance. There was euphoria in the country when the Ethiopians were first rescued and brought to Israel. However, the fact that the Ethiopians have had to take jobs as blue collar workers and menial laborers, or to remain unemployed, has led to them being considered low class by many Israelis. They suffer from discrimination because they are black and poorly educated. But Ethiopian families are close knit, and the whole Ethiopian community responds as it did in Ethiopia when one of their members dies or gets married. They still celebrate their "Sigd" holiday, a traditional Ethiopian day of fasting, dedicated to prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple and giving thanks for the right to return to the Holy Land. They go to Jerusalem on that day in the hope that those Ethiopian Jews (many of whom had been forcibly converted to Christianity) who are still waiting to emigrate from Ethiopia will be able to join their families in Israel. In spite of all their problems, the Ethiopian-Israelis are optimistic that life for them and their children will improve. They are fiercely loyal to Israel and extremely proud of their sons who have served and died in the Israeli army. Recently, the Knesset decided to include the Ethiopian Sigd holiday in the official holiday calendar. The holiday's history, traditions, and ceremonies will now be included in the educational system's curriculum.
FACTS ON ETHIOPIAN JEWRY’S ALIYAH TO ISRAEL
Operation Moses (Nov. 1984 – March 1985) – 8,000 olim - first major aliyah
Between Operation Moses and 1989 – 10,000 new immigrants
Operation Solomon (May 25, 1991) – 14,000+ olim – second major aliyah
Total number of Ethiopian immigrants brought to Israel until 2000 – 57,000
Total number of Ethiopian Jews in Israel at the end of 2008 – 120,000..
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